Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Chongge Wu
Wu Chongge, male, born in Chinese Mainland on October 16, 1993, is an independent music producer. Representative works: “Have You Fulfilled Your Wish” and “The Sea in the Sky
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
My earliest memory related to music is the CD player. I was born in the 1990s. In that era, our way of listening to music was through CD players. I still remember when I was a child, CDs often got stuck every time I listened to music. I had to take out the CD and wipe it clean with a cloth at that time. It’s interesting.
In my childhood, the music industry in our country was at its peak. At that time, the music industry around the world was also in a period of prosperity. The music I have been listening to since childhood is always of high quality. For example, “My Heart Will Go On”, “Baby One More Time”, “God Is A Girl”, and so on. I’m very grateful for the era that established high standards of aesthetics for my creations.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
Whenever I feel sad, such as separation or breakup, I always have strong inspiration. I usually write the lyrics first, hum them, and then arrange the chords on the piano.
I used to enjoy writing about my own emotions, but in recent years, I prefer to write about other people’s stories and experiences. Because my personal emotions and experiences are limited, I need to seek fresh inspiration from elsewhere. For example, my new albums “Have You Achieved Your Wish” and “Tiny Gravel” both tell the stories of my friends around me.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
After three years, my previous album has come to an end, and my production skills have gradually matured. At the beginning of 2025, I released a new album titled“Have You Achieved Your Wish”.The main storyline tells the life experiences of different groups of people, and each song is a unique and exclusive life story. Have you achieved your wish? A new life, a new location, and a firm choice.
My new song“Have You Achieved Your Wish” tells the story of one of my friends’ experiences. He bought a new house and bid farewell to the old house where he had lived for 30 years since childhood. That small room of his was the small world of his childhood. There are 30 years of memories of him and his family stored there. He bid farewell to everything he had in the past and married someone he didn’t like. That’s not the life he wants.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
My singing style is mainly based on breath, which tests the use of breath and makes it very difficult to control pitch accuracy. This tone can fully express melancholic emotions. It’s like a cool breeze blowing through your ears. The high notes in the latter half of the song are sung in a rock style, as passionate as a volcanic eruption.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
Through my observations and organization, I have found that music in Europe and America is increasingly emphasizing the use of electronic synthesized waves, and classical instruments such as violins and brass instruments are gradually being replaced by electronic synthesized waves. With the accelerated development of society and the fast pace of people’s lives, everyone’s mood is restless, and audiences need more fresh tones to stimulate their hearing.
For these reasons, my arrangement reduced the use of classical instruments such as violins and added a lot of fresh synthesized waves.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
In my creative process, I always use a regular 88 key MIDI keyboard, a Huawei laptop, a Senic ST-80 monitoring earphone, a Senic ST-458N recording earphone, Adobe Audition 2023 recording software for vocals, and Cubase 12 arranging software.
These are all very cheap and ordinary devices. The quality of a song is not determined by the device, but by one’s own operational skills. Usually, when recording my vocals, I only sing each song in its entirety 4 times from beginning to end, and then edit these 4 vocal segments into a track without much complicated operation. Solid production and singing skills are the most important.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
My favorite independent artist is a female singer from the United States named Britt Nicole. The melodies of each of her songs are fantastic, and I can feel the soul of the songs from her music, such as her “Walk On The Water”.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
I have been sensitive to things and people around me since I was young. Although I am strong, I often feel sad about many things. So the songs I create are all quite sad. I believe that people should face life optimistically, so I will incorporate positive emotions into the lyrics and melody.
I usually enjoy listening to high-quality produced music. The instruments used in that music arrangement are very diverse, and the singer’s singing skills are also excellent. Those are all very nutritious songs, listening to these works is a progress for the auditory senses. Therefore, my works will be influenced by these excellent songs, and I hope that one day I can also create high-quality works like them.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I hope the audience can feel from my works that the path of life is full of twists and turns, but we cannot be defeated by difficulties. We must move forward with strength. As long as we are alive, all difficulties have solutions. Many miracles exist only when we believe in them.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Music is a medium for human expression of emotions, and it is a shared spiritual wealth of humanity. It is not a tool we use to make money, we should have a reverence for music. Some musicians say they love music with their mouths, but in their hearts, they just want to become wealthy through music. It’s not right.
I am a music teacher in an elementary school, with an endless workload every day. My salary is very low, really, I won’t lie to you. But even after work, when I was very tired, I still persisted in practicing singing, playing the piano, and creating music. I love music, even though I am currently very poor. Music is my spiritual wealth, which makes me realize that no matter what I do, I must have a persistent spirit and not be defeated by difficulties.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
I want to perform in a small indoor sports stadium, where the sound quality is better indoors than outdoors. Performing in a sports stadium is the ultimate dream of every musician. Or if I could perform at a music award ceremony, it would be really amazing.
If I were to fantasize even more, I would like to hold a concert in a place like the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. That outdoor stage is really beautiful, with a beautiful background, a beautiful sunset, and beautiful lighting. Adele held a special concert at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles in 2021, which deeply shocked me.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
I want to collaborate with A-lin, who is one of the most talented female singers in our country for singing pop songs. I have been greatly influenced by her in terms of singing techniques.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links, also add a Youtube link that will appear below the interview)
Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576887734208
Spotify：https://open.spotify.com/artist/1uTGnNwAtaIt0X1CBpB8I5
Tiktok：https://www.tiktok.com/@chonggewu?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
YouTube：https://youtube.com/@chonggewu?si=AGKUAmlY1ThprV2G
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
I hope to have more inspiration and also hope that my music can be heard by more people.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I hope to meet listeners who truly understand the content of my songs.
